Sharknado Gets the Riffing of a Lifetime

Sharknado, the movie that no one believes was actually made by the Syfy channel, and yet drew in viewers like a moth to the flame or gapers to a traffic accident. It’s a movie about sharks in a tornado, or a hurricane, or both I guess. Sharknado sounds a lot better than Sharkicane, which actually sounds like a new artificial sweetener made from powdered sharks.

The fine folks at RiffTrax, who originally began riffing movies back in the 80’s on Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3k), have just released a riffed version of Sharknado, recorded live at the State Theater in Minneapolis in 2014. It was originally broadcast to over 700 theaters across North America, but is now available on the small screen for your viewing at home pleasure.

What is movie riffing? It’s the time honored tradition of sitting around the tv set and making fun of terrible movies, because it’s the only way you can make it through the movie with your sanity intact. Stars Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy provide the humor. All you need to do is sit back and enjoy.

The broadcast of Sharknado features both the movie and the riffing combined. Many of the shows at Rifftrax.com are simply audio tracks that you play while watching the movie off of a dvd or Netflix or whatever you have. This allows them to Riff top shelf movies as well as the stinkers, and you’ll find riffings of Harry Potter right alongside a riff of Super Mario Bros.

The Sharknado show starts with a short called “Spring Fever”. The shorts are always entertaining, as these are typically films that have not been seen since they were originally shown in theaters in the 40’s and 50’s. This one in particular concerns a man trying to repair the springs in his ancient couch. He foolishly states “I wish that I never see another spring as long as I live”, and then the sprite Coily appears to grant his wish. Will he regret his wish? From the first comment of “I am Coily, I’m the one true god!”, you’ll be laughing. Not only at the jokes, but what was considered entertainment back in the pre-television era.

But the main feature is Sharknado. A movie that if you did indeed watch, you either stared with incredulity, felt anger for your foolishness, or made your own jokes. Now, there’s no need for any of that. The RiffTrax boys do it for you.

Thanks be to Coily that I didn’t see Sharknado before I watched this riffed version. You’ll be wondering almost immediately whether or not Syfy intended for you to take this movie with any seriousness at all. Overacting, a ridiculous script, and a plotline that gets funnier as the movie goes on. Kevin, Mike, and Bill leave no joke un-uttered as surprise after surprise greets you. A shark biting through the roof of an SUV? It’s in there.

It’s when you get slapped in the face by a Riff that you really appreciate them. When a breaking news report nonchalantly reports that the dangerous eye of the hurricane is approaching, I almost did a spit take with their “Yes, the notoriously deadly EYE of a hurricane” comment. And when Tara Reid finally makes her appearance the riffing really takes it up to eleven. You’ll wonder along with the RiffTrax gents why the shark beleaguered cast doesn’t simply go upstairs rather than cringing on a staircase and then swimming through the shark infested waters of their living room.

Even of you have seen Sharknado before, you’ll get a whole new appreciation of it after watching the Riffed version. One of the things that I love about watching these riffed movies is the span and depth of their comments. From references to “Frozen” to “Beverly Hills. 90210” there is something for everyone.

There are no words to describe the hilarity of this movie, and the RiffTrax crew turns cringing into laughter from start to finish. If you are looking for a fun evening at home, you can bring back those memories of MST3k with this riffed version of Sharknado.